Overview

The Biohazard 5 Selection Track was a promotional item released in Japan alongside the game. Featuring a small selection of pieces composed by Kota Suzuki, orchestrated by Wataru Hokoyama, and performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra, it offers a glimpse into the sounds and styles that would be heard in the game. Many of the orchestral versions are exclusive to this release even though a three disc commercial soundtrack was later made available.

Body

The promotional album, unsurprisingly, starts with "Opening -Chris's Arrival-". This is definitely one of the highlights of the whole soundtrack. From the tribal tones created by the exotic percussion and the vocals, to the suspense created by the ambient atmosphere and strings, Suzuki creates a strong composition, with Hokoyama accentuating it with his orchestration choices.

The next four themes, "An Emergency," "A Big Despair," "Wind of Madness," and "Deep Ambition" are all action themes that incorporate a wonderful use of brass and strings to convey a great sense of intensity and suspense. Of particular interest to me is "Wind of Madness". It's probably my favorite theme, aside from the vocal theme, from this promotional album and the soundtrack as a whole. It has a very intense sound and I love how it incorporates the main theme in its work with bombastic brass and frenetic string work. Both composer and orchestrator did a fantastic job on this one.

"Plan of Uruboros" also incorporates the main theme, but does so in a more timid manner. The strings work creates an atmosphere of suspense, mystery, and despair. It has a very ambient nature, and while I'm not too fond of overly mysterious themes, I think this one struck a nice balance.

The theme song, "Pray -Theme Song-" is another amazing piece. Some have said that by not singing in her native language, vocalist Oulimata Niang loses some of the atmosphere of the piece. However, I would be one to disagree. The way she sings the English lyrics is both haunting and beautiful, while the accompaniment helps to construe a nice sense of suspense and tribal influences.

Summary

This short promotional album might be worth picking up, considering the original soundtrack features digital versions of these orchestrated themes. While I'm not the biggest fan of music in Resident Evil, the music for this game is easily the most accessible and action packed of the series' soundtracks to date, and one I see myself getting into with more listens. Both the composer and orchestrator do a superb job at bringing a variety of emotions and influences into the mix and I hope one day they collaborate again. If you can't find this on eBay, though, I'd just settle for the original soundtrack.